Unit information: Prague in 2010/11

Unit name	Prague
Unit code	RUSS32058
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Chitnis
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	.
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Russian
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The purpose of this unit is the study of a city, Prague, as a site of dramatic history, cultural inspiration and historical and cultural interchange. Incorporated into the Roman (later Holy Roman) Empire in 962, Prague became a major centre of trade, artistic patronage, learning and political power, not least since from 1355 onwards it was the capital of the Empire under Charles IV. In the early thirteenth century Germans had been invited to colonize Bohemia and Pragues dual identity as a German and Czech city was born. Indeed, in 1348 Prague saw the foundation of the first university in the German-speaking territories. This unit will examine various facets of Pragues history and culture from the Middle Ages to the Prague Spring (1968) and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Russians in August 1968.

Aims:

• To introduce students to a significant body of knowledge of a complexity appropriate to final year level. The content matter will normally include one or more of the following: literature; social, cultural or political history; linguistics; cultural studies; film, television or other media.

• To facilitate students engagement with a body of literature, including secondary literature, texts, including in non-print media, primary sources and ideas as a basis for their own analysis and development. Normally many or most of these sources will be in a language other than English and will enhance the development of their linguistic skills.

• To develop further skills of synthesis, analysis and independent research, building on the skills acquired in units at level I.

• To equip students with the skills to undertake postgraduate study in a relevant field.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Successful students will:

• be knowledgable about a significant cultural, historical or linguistic subject related to the language they are studying;

• will have advanced skills in the selection and synthesis of relevant material;

• be able to evaluate and analyse relevant material from a significant body of source materials, usually in a foreign language, at an advanced level;

• be able to respond to questions or problems by presenting their independent judgements in an appropriate style and at an advanced level of complexity;

• be able to transfer these skills to other working environments, including postgraduate study.

Teaching Information

1 x 2-hour weekly slot.

Assessment Information

Assignments:

class presentation

Assessment:

One 3,000-word essay + one 3-hour exam (50% each)

Reading and References

Key Reading:

• Peter Demetz, Prague in Black and Gold: The History of a City (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1998)

• R.J.W. Evans, The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1700: An Interpretation (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979)

• Robin Okey, The Habsburg Monarchy, c.1765-1918: From Enlightenment to Eclipse (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2001)

• Geoffrey Parker (ed.), The Thirty Years' War (London: Routledge, 1984)

• Angelo Maria Ripellino, Magic Prague, trans. David Newton-Marinelli (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1994)

• Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1998)